Disclaimer (of some variety): I am a very big Prong fan. There was a time that I had seen them play live more times than any other band that I liked. If you know Prong, then you know how awesome (and underrated) they are. “Cleansing” and “Rude Awakening” suggested a brilliant future. Tommy Victor, Ted Parsons, and Paul Raven were quickly and quietly quite influential to the scene. Then Prong vanished, went on hiatus, or something (FYI they got dumped by Epic Records actually).

In 2003, Prong returned with “Scorpio Rising”, Victor was backed by Monte Pittman (guitar and bass), and Dan Laudo (drums). Yet, it was not nearly as impressive as the previous work. “Power Of The Damager” was released in 2007 with Pittman reprising his role and a new drummer, Aaron Rossi, in attendance. While Victor’s collaboration with Al Jourgenson (Ministry) showed some improvement, it still failed to match the power of the past releases (no pun intended). Needless to say, as a fervent fan, I was pretty disappointed. There seemed to be something lacking.

Now, to the present, as I prepared to listen to “Carved In Stone”, I steeled myself. Would I be let down (again)?

The opening salvo of ‘Eternal Heat’ blew any apprehension away. The depths of the grooves! The Off-kilter and angled riffs! Victor urgently exhorts the listener with the soon to be classic opening lines of “You feel Pain! / You feel Pleasure!” WOAH! ‘Keep On Living In Pain’ pummels as well. THIS is the Prong I remember!

‘Ammunition’ comes in and I swear this was on “Prove You Wrong”. Alexei Rodriguez’s drumwork switches effortlessly from a staggered shuffle to a Fear Factory-like stomp. ‘Revenge Best Served Cold’ is by far my favorite and it ranks up there with ‘Snap Your Fingers’ in its catchiness. Try, try NOT to be taken in with the groove and delicious chorus... It just keeps getting better. ‘Put Myself To Sleep’ is the anthem of the disenchanted and speaks directly to ours times. The title track is one of the most Sabbath-y songs I have ever heard. Victor puts all the stoner doom bands to shame.

Ok. I am gonna stop here. This is what Prong was supposed to become. The only conclusion I can draw is that Tommy Victor does his best work when he collaborates with amazing bassists. I would like to argue that perhaps Victor’s time as a side man for Ministry and Danzig paid off but I think the real reason is Tony Campos of Static X. If ever be a band that has direct lineage from Prong it would be Static X and I think Campos rejuvenated Victor. May this pairing continue to be fruitful...

Best Tracks: ALL! But specifically ‘Keep On Living In Pain’, ‘Revenge Best Served Cold’, ‘Put Myself To Sleep’, ‘Carved Into Stone’, and ‘Reinvestigate’.